Ribbed barrier with lapped, edgejoined facing panels



May 14, 1968 E. LONGINOTTI 3,382,637 EDGE-JOINED FACING PANELS RUBBED BARRIER WITH LAPPED,

5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 13. 1966 May 14, 1968 E. LONGINOTTI RUBBED BARRIER WITH LAPPED, EDGE-JQINED FACING PANELS Filed April 13, 1966 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Illlllllllllll\\\\\\ n United States Patent 3,382,637 RIBBED BARRIER WITH LAPPED, EDGE- JOINED FACING PANELS Enrico Longinotti, 75 Viale Dona'to Giannotti, Florence, Italy Filed Apr. 13, 1966, Ser. No. 542,284 Claims priority, application Italy, Apr. 15, 1965, 8,576/ 65; Feb. 15, 1966, 3,642/ 66 11 Claims. (Cl. 52-320) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A floor-ceiling structure comprised of a plurality of assembled horizontal metal sheets supported at their longitudinal edges and having overlapped transverse edges with aligned holes in which bolts are inserted and engage nuts to secure the sheets together and deform the sheets at the edges of the holes and form reinforcement collars. A plurality of spaced blocks are mounted on the upper surface of the sheets and form a grid of channels which are filled with a concrete mass forming an overlying continuous slab above the blocks and channels.

This invention relates to a floor/ceiling structure.

According to the present invention there is provided in a building structure, a plurality of horizontally-extending metal sheets each having an upper surface and a lower surface and a row of holes adjacent each edge of each sheet, a plurality of spaced blocks mounted "on the upper surface of each sheet in rows arranged normally to one another thereby forming a grid of channels, parallel spaced beams supporting opposite edges of each said sheet, joining means for joining adjacent edges of adjacent sheets, said joining means co-operating with aligned holes of adjacent partly overlapping sheets to deform the edges of said holes to form reinforcement collars, and a concrete mass filling said grid of channels and forming an overlying continuous slab above said blocks and channels.

Certain embodiments of ceiling structure in accordance with the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a ceiling with parts broken away,

FIGS. 2 and 3 are two details in section, to an enlarged scale, of a connecting and reinforcement element between a sheet of material and a concrete casting, and of a joining member between adjacent and partially superimposed metal sheets;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary partially-sectioned plan View of a ceiling ready for the casting in situ;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are two fragmentary sections on the lines VV and VIVI of FIG. 4, the ceiling being completed by cast concrete;

FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 show, in section, joints between the superimposed edges of lower supporting sheets;

FIG. 10 is a vertical section of an assembly including the ceiling and vertical external and vertical partition walls, and a finishing cornice, aligned with the external wall;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the cornice, and

FIG. 12 is a horizontal section through an assembly of vertical walls.

Referring now to the drawings, a ceiling is constructed of rectangular metal sheets 1, which are prepared in situ or otherwise and each of said sheets carries upstanding blocks or projections 3 of a waterproof, lightweight niaterial, such as an expanded synthetic-resin (for example expanded polystyrol or polystyrene), which are cemented to the upper surface (in situ) of the sheet 1. The blocks 3,382,637 Patented May 14, 1968 3 are preferably tapered upwardly and may be hollow and in this case they are cemented by their peripheral edges directed towards the sheet 1. The blocks are aligned in two perpendicular directions to form a crossed grid of channels. Profiled members 5, preferably of for-med metal sheet, extend along the channels extending in one direction and are secured to the sheet 1 and the edge 5a of each member 5 (FIG. 2) by welding. The profiled members 5 have a generally Z-shape cross-section, but can have any other cross-section, provided that it ensures anchoring to concrete cast above the sheets 1 and blocks 3, and provide rigidity to the metal structure formed by the sheets 1 before effecting the casting in situ. Holes 5b (FIG. 2) may be provided to enable air trapped in the concrete to escape and reduce porosity of the casting.

Along the edges parallel to the profiled member 5, each sheet is provided with a corresponding series of holes.

For the location of the sheets 1 in situ, already carrying the blocks 3 and the members 5, I-section beams 7 are provided which are spaced apart by an amount corresponding to the width of the sheet 1, measured in the direction in which the profiled members 5 extend. These beams 7 are supported by main supporting structures, such as external I-section beams 9 (see FIG. 10) supported by columns 11, or by vertical walls or the like. The profiled members 5 are supported at their ends, together with the sheet 1, on lower flanges of the beams 7 and provide sufficient rigidity to render the sheet 1 selfsupporting together with the blocks 3, when this sheet is located in situ on two contiguous beams 7. Two parallel beams 7 may support two or more contiguous sheets 1, having appropriate modular sizes, which may be different from each other. Two contiguous sheets 1 have their edges superimposed to a limited extent, as is indicated for the edges 1a and 1b and the sheets are drilled at their edges and the holes are made to align with one another at least approximately when the two edges are superimposed.

In the corresponding holes of the edges 1a and 1b of two adjacent sheets 1, screws or bolts 13 are engaged; each screw or bolt includes a head 13a by which it can be screwed up or unscrewed, a substantially cylindrical boss 13]) radiused at 13c at the end opposite the head 13a, and a screw-threaded shank 13d extending from the boss 13b. The threaded shank 13d is capable of being screwed into a corresponding nut 14, which has an annular rim 14a with the internal corner radiused and defining a recess 14b, which is surrounded by said rim 14a. The shank 13d has a diameter such that it can be inserted in the holes of the superimposed edges 1a, 1b of contiguous sheets 1. The diameter of the boss 13b plus four times the sheet thickness 1 is substantially equal to or slightly smaller than the internal diameter of the recess 14b defined by the rim 14a.

After the shank 13d has been initially screwed into the nut 14 (FIG. 7) on continuing the screwing action, the radiused portion 13c of the boss 13b contacts the edges of the holes into which the shank 13d has been inserted, and thus the deformation of the edges of the holes (FIG. 8) progresses until said edges of the holes are deformed, forming collars 1x (FIGS. 3 and 9) surrounding the boss 13b and interposed between the latter and the internal portion of the rim 14a.

This jointing arrangement firstly ensures a high tear resistance in the interior of the holes made in the superimposed edges la and 1b of the sheets 1. Secondly, a perfect matching of the adjacent sheets is obtained without requiring a perfect centering between the holes in the superimposed edges of the sheets; in fact any possible off-set between the holes, in which the screws 13 are to be inserted, is compensated in the deformation of the edges of the holes, which causes the formation of the collars 1x and the latter may also be at different levels.

After having matched the superimposed edges of the adjacent sheets 1 and after having cemented the blocks 3, should the latter not be already cemented during the prefabrication stage, provision is made for embedding the blocks 3 in concrete 16. This concrete at least reaches the level of the upper flanges of the beams 7, or the level of the upper flanges of bearing beams 9. Optional section members 7a may be provided as spacers in the formation of the casting of the concrete (see FIG. 6).

This cast concrete forms both a continuous slab above the blocks 3 between one beam 7 and the next adjacent beam, and a grid of ribs between the rows of blocks 3. The cast concrete 16 is contained between the vertical webs of the beams 7 and the structures on which the beams 7 lie, for example the beams 9, without requiring the provisional wooden shuttering. The casting 16 may include steel reinforcements in the channels between the blocks 3 and in the upper continuous slab. But the crosssection of steel which resists tension, may be in practice provided only by the sheets 1, which are located in the best position for acting under tension in the cross-section of the complete ceiling structure. These sheets are anchored to the concrete casting 16 both by direct adhesion and by the presence of projecting portions which are embedded in the casting, such as the profiled members and the projecting parts formed by the nuts 14. The continuity of the tensile strength of the sheets 1 is ensured by the joints effected by the members 13, 14.

A floor or ceiling as described may be combined with vertical continuous wall bearing-structures or column structures, such as the columns 11 of FIGS. 10, 12. Stirrups 18 (broken lines in FIG. may be anchored in the concrete casting 16 or portion 18:: thereofpassing through the beam 9 and serving to support cornice members 20 (FIG. 10 and 11). These cornice members 20 have internal projections 20a which abut against the lower flanges of the beam 9, and are provided with holes 20b which accommodate the projections 18a of the stirrups 18, in such a manner to allow the anchoring of the cornice members 20.

According to an arrangement provided for in copending application Ser. No. 542,282 simultaneously filed by the same applicant, the external wall may be formed by three vertical partitions including vertical panels 22, 24 and 26, and the internal partition walls include two vertical panels 28; the panels of each vertical wall are connected by plates, sheets or strips such as those denoted by 30a, and 3012, or 300 and 30d. The vertical walls formed by the panels may be stiffened by profiled bar-section rods 32, or by the columns 11. The rods 32 lying between the panels 22 and 24 may engage at their upper ends between the lower flange of the beam 9 and the cornice 20. The rods lying between the panels 28 may be retained at their upper ends by horizontal ceiling panels 34, supported, for instance, by channel sections 36 and 38 connected to the sheets 1, and by any other suitable frame work.

Floor slabs 40, between which the partition walls formed by the panels 28 are confined, may alternatively or additionally abut against the vertical panels 26 of the external walls. This arrangement is further described in said copending application.

I claim:

1. In a building structure:

a plurality of horizontally-extending metal sheets each having an upper surface and a lower surface and a row of holes adjacent each edge of each sheet,

a plurality of spaced blocks mounted on the upper surface of each sheet in rows arranged normally to one another thereby forming a grid of channels,

parallel spaced beams supporting opposite edges of each said sheet,

joining means for joining adjacent edges of adjacent sheets, said joining means co-operating with aligned holes of adjacent partly-overlapping sheets to deform the sheets at the edges of said holes to form reinforcement collars, and

a concrete mass filling said grid of channels and forming an overlying continuous slab above said blocks and channels.

2. A structure according to claim 1, wherein said joining means comprises a plurality of male and female screw-threaded members, each said male screw-threaded member comprising:

a screw-threaded shank,

a cylindrical boss rigid with the shank and having a diameter larger than the diameter of each said hole, and

a head rigid with the boss.

7 3. A structure according to claim 2, wherein the boss of each said male screw-threaded member is radiused at its face adjacent the shank.

*4. A structure according to claim 2, wherein said female screw-threaded member has a recess arranged to'accommodate at least a part of said boss and at least parts of the deformed material of the sheets bounding the holes.

5. A structure according to claim 4, wherein said recess is generally cylindricaland has a diameter equal to the diameter of the boss plus four times the thickness of each said metal sheet.

6. A structure according to claim 1, comprising:

means stiffening each said sheet and serving to reinforce said sheet before said concrete mass has set.

7. A structure according to claim 6, wherein each said stiffening means comprises:

an elongate profiled member shaped to anchor in said concrete mass.

8. A structure according to claim 7, wherein said profiled member is of generally Z-section.

9. A structure according to claim 1, wherein said beams which support the edge of said sheet comprise:

I-section horizontally-extending main support beams, said sheets being supported by the lower flanges of said main support beams, the webs of said beams acting as lateral permanent shuttering of the concrete mass.

10. A structure according to claim 1, wherein said blocks are made of an expanded synthetic-resin.

11. A structure according to claim 1, wherein said blocks taper upwardly.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 759,834 5/1904 Steele --5O X 1,275,668 8/ 1918 Filippone. 1,679,915 8/1928 Murray 52338 X 2,792,164 5/1957 Cauffiel 52577 X 3,328,932 7/1967 Cheskin 52577 X FOREIGN PATENTS 25,789 11/1911 Great Britain. 573,106 11/1945 Great Britain.

HENRY C. SUTHERLAND, Primary Examiner. 

